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Through the Storm

Acts 27: 13-19 “13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. 15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: 17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. 18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; 19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship” (KJV).

The crew did not want to spend the winter months at Fair Haven and going against Paul’s warning they decided to set sail for Phoenix, a few hours away. As soon as they felt the south winds blow they left the port of Fair Haven.

Shortly after departing they were caught by a strong typhoon or hurricane force winds. The storm was so strong that they had to let the ship drift in the winds and tides. They had to undergird the ship, which is simply using chains or ropes to strengthen the ship. By the second day they began to lighten the ship, throwing unnecessary items overboard and by the third day they began throwing the ships tackling. Anything that was not essential went overboard. They must have been in real trouble.

Wrong decisions based upon wrong advice may often land us in troubled waters and stormy seas. Paul warned them not to sail during the winter months and specifically told them that this trip was going to be dangerous. But Julius listened to the ship’s crew.

It is easy to say “I told you so”, when someone does the opposite of what we tell them. But the problem wasn’t Julius’ failure to listen to Paul. When you think about it, Julius took the best advice he could have, after all Paul was not a ship’s captain or part of any ship’s crew. The problem we run into is when we don’t seek the Lord’s will first. We tend to listen to others or make decisions based on feelings and emotions, instead of entering into a time of prayer and study in order to seek the Lord’s will. Luke 22:42 “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done”.

Now please do not misunderstand my thoughts here: good advice is and what others think is one way that the Lord uses in order to guide us down the right path. It is important to remember that we still need to seek the Father’s will in everything we do. Just be cautious about making decisions that affect your walk with the Lord.